Karla Jurvetson

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Karla Jurvetson
Karla Jurvetson Headshot.jpg
Jurvetson in 2018
Born
Karla Tinklenberg

1965/1966 (age 55–56)[1]
New Haven, Connecticut, U.S.
OccupationPhysician, psychiatrist philanthropist, political organizer
Spouse(s)
​
​
(m. 1990; div. 2018)​
[1]
Children2
Parent(s)

Karla Jurvetson (born 1965/66) is an American physician,[3] philanthropist, and political organizer who lives in Silicon Valley.[4]

Career[]

Jurvetson works as a private practice physician in Los Altos, California.[5]

Personal life[]

Karla Jurvetson was born in New Haven, Connecticut and grew up in Palo Alto, CA.[6] She earned a bachelor's degree in human biology from Stanford University, a medical doctorate from the University of California, Davis School of Medicine, and completed her residency at Stanford Hospital.

In 1990, she married Steve Jurvetson, who become a Silicon Valley early-stage investor in companies including SpaceX in 2000 and Tesla in 2006.[7][8][9] They were married for more than 25 years and have two children. They separated in 2015, she filed for divorce in 2016, and as of 2018 divorce proceedings were underway.[1] In 2017, to honor her father's 50-year career as a medical school professor, Jurvetson helped fund the construction of the new Stanford Medical Center and endowed a professorship in her parents’ names.[10][11]

Philanthropy[]

Jurvetson served on the board of directors of Peninsula Open Space Trust from 2003 to 2006 and was a founding donor to Wildlife Conservation Network (2002 to present).[12][13] After touring deforestation on the slopes of Mauna Kea in 2016, she sponsored the planting of 1,000 indigenous trees through the Hawaiian Legacy Reforestation Initiative.[14]

She served as a school board member for The Nueva School, which is located in the San Francisco Bay Area and was previously a kindergarten through 8th grade school. She co-chaired the school's $50 million capital campaign, which resulted in the construction of the San Mateo campus and the addition of a high school to Nueva (2011–2018).[15][16][14]

Jurvetson has been a trustee on several other non-profit boards, including the San Francisco Ballet (2000-2003).[17] She was named by Gentry Magazine as one of the top 50 philanthropists in the San Francisco Bay Area.[16]

As of 2020, Jurvetson is a supporter of the San Francisco Asian Art Museum[18] and she serves on the Advisory Board of Stanford Center for Philanthropy and Civil Society, which focuses on "the way we use private resources for public benefit."[19][20]

Political activism[]

Karla Jurvetson has volunteered as a political organizer and a fundraiser for many progressive candidates over the past thirty years, including hosting a Democratic National Committee (DNC) reception at her home in November 2019 with President Barack Obama.[21][22] At that time, the DNC had just $8.7 million cash on hand and $7 million in debts, compared to the Republican National Committee and the Trump campaign, which had over $158 million cash on hand.[23][24] Golden State Warriors player Stephen Curry and his wife, Ayesha Curry, were co-hosts for the event, which raised over $3.5 million for the DNC Unity Fund that was formed to support the eventual Democratic presidential nominee.[25][26]

As a Stanford undergraduate in 1988, Jurvetson went door-to-door for Anna Eshoo during her first campaign for Congress, handing out VCR tapes of Eshoo discussing her candidacy.[1] In 2008 Jurvetson volunteered in the swing state of Nevada for then-candidate Barack Obama, as well as making 46 contributions to Democrats totaling $128,700.[27]

In 2016, she canvassed door-to-door in Nevada for Hillary Clinton and for Catherine Cortez Masto, who became the first Latina U.S. Senator.[27] After the election of Donald Trump in November 2016, her donations to Democratic candidates markedly increased to $6.9 million in advance of the 2018 midterms, making her one of the nation's top political donors.[27]

In an interview about the 2018 elections, Jurvetson said, "Women disproportionately were the activists, the volunteers, the people who drove change ... Women have gained enough economic power and political power so we can translate our frustration into action ... I feel like it’s our moral duty, if we’re not going to run ourselves, to support the women who are brave enough to put their names on the ballot."[27]

For the 2018 elections, Jurvetson helped with voter registration drives,[27] and co-hosted fundraisers for Democratic Party candidates.[28]

Controversy arose with her large donation of $5.4m to Women Vote!, the political action committee run by EMILY's List. Her donation was in the form of Baidu shares, a Chinese internet company traded on the US stock exchange and was unusual outside of Silicon Valley since it was in the form of stock shares. The controversy arose because only American citizens can donate to U.S. elections.[29] An EMILY's List spokesperson said, "We cleared the donation through our lawyers". In November 2018, Jurvetson was listed as one of five "surprising million dollar donors" to the US midterm elections.[29]

In 2019 Jurvetson contributed over $1 million to Fair Fight,[30] an organization founded by Stacey Abrams after her narrow loss in the 2018 race for governor of Georgia against Brian Kemp. In January 2020 she donated $14.6 million to Persist PAC, which supported Elizabeth Warren's presidential campaign.[31] In June 2020, when Joe Biden secured the Democratic nomination, she contributed $1,000,000 to his PAC, Unite the Country.[32][better source needed]

She currently is on the Board of Advisors for The Collective, which has the mission of increasing black representation in the political process.[33]

Jurvetson also serves on the Board of Directors of EMILY's List, the nation's largest organization for women in politics, which has over five million members.[34]

References[]

  1. ^ a b c d "Meet Karla Jurvetson, the Bay Area megadonor who helped make 2018 the 'year of the woman'". The Mercury News. November 25, 2018. Retrieved September 8, 2020.
  2. ^ "Seven Stanford Medicine faculty members appointed to endowed professorships". News Center. Retrieved 2020-07-21.
  3. ^ Jones, Natalie (2 November 2018). "Midterm big spenders: the top 20 political donors this election". The Guardian.
  4. ^ "Dr. Karla Jurvetson". Sharecare. ShareCare. Retrieved 4 October 2018.
  5. ^ Jurvetson, Karla. "Dr. Karla Jurvetson, MD". AmWell. AmWell. Retrieved 1 July 2018.
  6. ^ "Jared Tinklenberg, noted Alzheimer's disease researcher, dies at 80".
  7. ^ Bronson, Po (1999-06-20). "Surfing On the Slippery Skin Of a Bubble". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2020-07-23.
  8. ^ "Tesla Motors Secures $40 Million Investment Round Led by VantagePoint Venture Partners and Elon Musk". www.businesswire.com. 2006-05-31. Retrieved 2020-07-21.
  9. ^ Investor's Business Daily (2015-03-19). "Venture Capitalist Steve Jurvetson Eyes Space Boom | Investor's Business Daily". Investor's Business Daily. Retrieved 2020-07-21.
  10. ^ Bach, Becky. "Seven Stanford Medicine faculty members appointed to endowed professorships". Stanford Medicine. Retrieved 1 October 2018.
  11. ^ "Stanford University Medical Center Renewal Project". Stanford Medicine. Stanford Medicine. Retrieved 1 October 2018.
  12. ^ "Wildlife Conservation Network - Be a Wildlife Hero". Wildlife Conservation Network. Retrieved 2020-07-23.
  13. ^ "People (August 13, 2003)". www.almanacnews.com. Retrieved 2020-07-23.
  14. ^ a b "A FAMILY FOREST – Green Magazine Hawaii". Retrieved 2020-07-23.
  15. ^ "Upper School | The Nueva School". www.nuevaschool.org. Retrieved 2020-07-23.
  16. ^ a b "Karla Jurvetson". Stanford PACS. Retrieved 2020-07-23.
  17. ^ Ross, Janice (2007-11-12). San Francisco Ballet at Seventy-Five. Google Books Preview. Chronicle Books. ISBN 9780811856980. Retrieved 2 October 2018.
  18. ^ "Transformed Asian Art Museum Unveils New Pavilion with teamLab: Continuity". About. Retrieved 2020-07-21.
  19. ^ "Philanthropy and Digital Civil Society: Blueprint 2019". Stanford PACS. Retrieved 2020-07-21.
  20. ^ "Advisory Board". Stanford PACS. Retrieved 2020-07-21.
  21. ^ "Barack Obama urges anxious Democrats to 'chill out' over 2020 candidates at California fundraiser". ABC News. Retrieved 2020-07-23.
  22. ^ Tracy, Abigail (22 November 2019). "Obama Deals With the Democrats' Daddy Issues". Vanity Fair. Retrieved 2020-07-23.
  23. ^ "'It's too much': Democrats shudder at Trump's money machine". POLITICO. Retrieved 2020-07-23.
  24. ^ "Party committee fundraising, 2019-2020". Ballotpedia. Retrieved 2020-07-23.
  25. ^ "Tickets for Obama fundraiser in Silicon Valley going for up to $355,000". The Mercury News. 2019-11-04. Retrieved 2020-07-23.
  26. ^ Writer/meganw@latc.com, Megan V. Winslow-Staff. "Barack Obama to fundraise in Los Altos Hills next week". Los Altos Town Crier. Retrieved 2020-07-23.
  27. ^ a b c d e "Meet Karla Jurvetson, the Bay Area megadonor who helped make 2018 the 'year of the woman'". The Mercury News. 2018-11-25. Retrieved 2020-07-23.
  28. ^ "Take The House: Atherton, August 26". WomenCount. Retrieved 2020-07-23.
  29. ^ a b Kramer, Melanie (2018-11-06). "5 Surprising Million-Dollar Donors to the US Midterms". Money Makers. Retrieved 2020-07-23.
  30. ^ Salzer, James; Journal-Constitution, The Atlanta. "Abrams group draws tons of small donations, and a few biggies, to raise $26 million quickly". ajc. Retrieved 2020-07-23.
  31. ^ Schleifer, Theodore (20 March 2020). "A little-known Silicon Valley psychiatrist has become one of the Democratic Party's most powerful donors". Vox. Retrieved 2020-07-23.
  32. ^ "Karla Jurvetson gave another $1 million to Joe Biden's super PAC last month, per new filing".
  33. ^ "Board of Advisors". The Collective PAC. Retrieved 2020-07-23.
  34. ^ "Board of Directors". www.emilyslist.org. Retrieved 2020-07-23.

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